This came up during a recent game. Is it assumed that spell areas (in this case, the cone of Burning Hands) are three dimensional, so that a 15' cone terminates in a circle 15' in diameter? (Assuming the center of the cone is ground level, this would make it a half-circle 7.5 feet high)
Obviously, fireballs and the like are 3-d, but are all such effects?
Yeah. If not you would have to decide to limit them to the horizontal or vertical plane.
I all way thought that burning hands was a fan not a cone.
I look that up.
I all way thought that burning hands was an arc or a fan not a cone.
I look that up.
I believe in earlier editions it was described as a fan of fire.
Cones are three-dimensional objects.
OK, that seems to be a full consensus.
This came up during a recent game. Is it assumed that spell areas (in this case, the cone of Burning Hands) are three dimensional, so that a 15' cone terminates in a circle 15' in diameter? (Assuming the center of the cone is ground level, this would make it a half-circle 7.5 feet high)
Obviously, fireballs and the like are 3-d, but are all such effects?
Yup. Very useful to know and think about when considering Fly/Levitate or other modes of 3D movement.